VE Day
by Lancelotlaureate
Summary: Trying to get Ian and Barbara home, the TARDIS lands among the VE Day celebrations.


The Doctor clutched his forehead in pain as he disembarked from the TARDIS into what appeared to be a park of some kind with various trees, bushes and benches. He narrowed his eyes at the surroundings and then turned to look at his companions who were also glancing around themselves with interest.

"Here we are, looks like England, home sweet home," the Doctor said.

Barbara smiled. "Yes Doctor, it does look like England." She looked around and her eyes took in the sights. Finally, her hand found Ian's and she glanced at him, noticing the same delighted expression. "It's Green Park, Ian, I'd recognise it anywhere."

"Oh how wonderful!" Susan exclaimed before her expression turned from jubilant to downcast.

"What's the matter Susan, aren't you happy for us?" Barbara asked.

"Oh of course I am, it's just, well…" she stopped shyly and turned away.

"You'll miss us old fogies eh?" Ian said, nudging Barbara.

"Speculation of course," the Doctor said, narrowing his eyes as he looked across the park. "I'm not sure we are in your time."

Ian and Barbara glanced uneasily around them and realised the Doctor was right. Seeing the young couple walk past them only confirmed their thoughts.

"1940's perhaps?" Ian said. "My brother had a girlfriend who looked and dressed just like that. And there's a soldier or two over there."

"Not to mention the Union flags everywhere," Barbara added. "And it sounds like quite a party's going on!"

"You don't think its VE Day do you?" Ian said, glancing at the group of people who stood by the park entrance. The youngsters laughed and drank without any inhibitions and everyone whooped and cheered as people passed them by.

"Oh how wonderful!" Susan said, leaning up on her tiptoes to see if she could see anything happening. "Do you think it could be, Grandfather?"

"Possibly Susan, but you don't want to actually go into that raucous do you?"

"Of course! That's experiencing history first hand."

"Well it's not really history to us," Barbara told her. "We were here, remember? Well, not here as such. I was too young to come over to the major celebrations but we had a street party outside my house, it was wonderful."

"What about you Ian?" Susan asked with excitement. "What did you do?"

"Street party too," he replied with a grin. "There was a few of us boys hiding under the tables trying to snag a glass of anyone's left over beer. People partied into the night. I even got a kiss or two from the girls in my class at school."

The Doctor's eyebrow rose in surprise at Ian's account of his past dalliances and then he clutched his head again and let out a moan of pain. Ian was at the old man's side immediately and he patted him on the arm.

"What's the matter Doctor, your headache still raging?"

"Yes, my boy, yes I dare say I need to have a rest, and this noise certainly isn't helping."

"Do you want me to stay with you, Grandfather?" Susan said sadly.

"No, no, you go off with young Chesterton and Barbara and double check this is when you think it is. I suppose on the way you can hobnob with some of the locals, but Susan…" He wagged his finger at her.

Susan didn't give him the opportunity to finish his sentence and cuddled him tightly. "Yes Grandfather, I'll behave.

"We'll take care of her, Doctor," Ian said, putting his arm around Susan.

…

"Susan slow down," Barbara said as she desperately tried to keep up with her younger companion who was disappearing into the crowds at fast speed. "We don't want to be separated."

Susan looked behind her, and realising she was a good several paces ahead of her friends she waited patiently, smiling at a group of young sailors as she did so. Barbara pulled the young girl's arm and shuffled her away from the men who had begun to unintentionally crowd her.

"Susan, you must stay with us. I understand the temptation to get lost in the crowd but please, we did promise your grandfather we'd look after you and we all know what people got up to celebrating on this day."

"I'm sorry Barbara, its just everyone is so without rule, they're just so free suddenly, and everything is game. I've never known a moment like that."

Ian was about to reply when a pretty auburn haired woman leaned across and stroked his face with her hand. "Hello there, handsome. Aren't I lucky?"

Ian looked at Barbara and Susan, blushing slightly at then back at the woman. She leaned in close to him and kissed him quickly on the lips before kissing him a few times on the cheek until she left red lipstick marks on his face. Before Ian even had a chance to say anything the woman had disappeared further into the crowd of nameless faces. Ian let out a squeak but didn't say anything as Barbara and Susan smirked beside him.

"Enjoying yourself are we?" Barbara asked, highly amused with Ian's reaction to the kiss, as though he hadn't been kissed in a long while.

"Let's move on shall we?" he replied, letting out an awkward smile.

As they moved to their right to make their way to a quieter part of the celebrations, Barbara was suddenly taken into a dance hold with an attractive soldier who twirled her around on the spot, and she had to politely dance with him for a few moments before squeezing her way out from the hold to re-join her friends. She was happy to dance with him though, seeing how joyful and jubilant he was to be free.

"Everyone looks so happy," Susan told her friends as they headed down another long street where another flock of people had gathered.

"Well they were happy," Barbara said. "They were alive. Oh, it's such an atmosphere but I guess we haven't even had time to consider that although this is a wonderful place to land for a night, that this isn't our time. We've been here once and we don't belong in this time, not anymore."

"No, but it's nice to see the old city again, even if it is twenty years too early. Smell that Barbara, London air."

"And I remember this heat too," she replied. "Sitting at one of the tables at the street party, drinking lemonade, making fans out of serviettes and tearing them up, and throwing them in the air like confetti."

Ian leaned against a wall and pulled Barbara and Susan over to join him. It was a tight squeeze and he hoped no one would be eavesdropping given that they knew the future- but he laughed as he recalled the past. "My dad and brother had this poster of Vera Lynn on the shed door. I used to think she was such a beautiful woman. Well she still is, but I suppose she was my first pin up really, well her or Rita Hayworth."

Barbara smiled- half watching Ian with fondness, and half keeping an eye on Susan who was now wearing a sailor's hat and dancing with two RAF pilots and two other women.

"Come on," Barbara said. "As much as I'd like to celebrate all night, we really ought to go and check on the Doctor."

Barbara and Ian walked over toward Susan and tapped her on the shoulder. "Come on Susan, back we go," Ian said.

"Oh must we?"

"We must," Barbara replied.

"Yes, before Barbara starts drinking and we'll never get away," Ian joked.

He was prepared for the nudge in the ribs and dived out of the way just in time, laughing as her face scrunched up in annoyance at his comments about her drinking habits. She was about to retaliate when she felt someone grip her waist and she found herself with a conga line forming behind her.

"Come on love, lead the way," a man said from behind.

Barbara's face flushed with embarrassment and she quickly pushed Ian in front of her, grabbing his waist and letting him do the honours of leading the way. Susan found a place to squeeze in among some sailors and kicked her legs about when the occasion called for it. She had no idea what a conga was but Ian seemed to know what he was doing as he led the line criss-cross around the street, knocking into everyone as they tried to manoeuvre past. Barbara's arms wrapped tightly around Ian's waist so that she didn't become separated from him, and she was so overcome with laughter that she buried her face against Ian's back, barely able to breathe from the giggling. Ian finally came to a halt when he'd run out of breath and room, colliding with a group of young women in flowery dresses who were also doing a conga line from the other direction.

There was a lot of laughter as the two conga lines ceased and the revellers began to chat and mingle with one another. Barbara grabbed her friends gently by their arms and pulled them away from the crowd.

"Ok, now we really have to get back before one of us gets injured or possibly married."

…

Back at the park, the three time travellers crept back in the direction of the TARDIS trying not to get involved in any more raucous events on the way. As they careered past one of the bushes, they all stopped when they realised they could hear a strange noise coming from the foliage. Ian looked down and saw a shoe leaning out from the leaves and then he saw a hand and a leg.

"I think we better get a move on," he said as he pushed Susan hurriedly to the way of the TARDIS.

"Why, what's going on?"

Barbara looked at the bush and saw the figures of two people moving about under the twigs and leaves. "Oh dear," she said, looking awkwardly at her former pupil. "Squirrels I expect- come on Susan."

Ian leaned in close to Barbara as Susan skipped on ahead toward the ship, still wearing the sailor hat that she'd inadvertently stolen from a young man. "Someone's having a lucky night eh?"

Barbara folded her arms. "Yes, well that person isn't you, come on."

She yanked at his jumper and led him to the ship doors, pushing him inside after Susan and laughing as she did so. "Oh what a night."


End file.
